Nomadic identity for the fediverse?

[aschrijver]

Key Event Receipt Infrastructure (KERI)

“The first truly fully decentralized identity system.”

Quote from Hitchhikers Guide to KERI. Part 2:

KERI in a Nutshell

Conceptually, the Key Event Receipt Infrastructure (KERI) protocol is a decentralized identity protocol designed to be an identity overlay for the Internet. Each word in KERI has the following meanings:

• Key refers to asymmetric key cryptography that is used to control persistent self-certifying identifiers, called Autonomic Identifiers (AIDs).
• Event refers to a series of Key Events in a hash-chain verifiable data structure called Key Event Logs (KELs) that record the key-state evolution of AIDs via the Pre-Rotation mechanism.
• Receipt refers to signed receipts of key events, called Key Event Receipts that provide non-repudiable proof while exchanging key events between AIDs.
• Infrastructure refers to the protocol for exchanging non-repudiable key event receipts, including the designation of Witnesses, Watchers, Jurors, and Judges.

@silverpill

did:keri is quite complicated and I can’t figure out how it works. For some reason, authors chose to skip the most important part of the resolution algo: The method for discovering the Key Event Log is outside the scope of this specification. Possible implementations include the use of a Distributed Hash Table (DHT), anchoring a KEL in a ledger or the use of a gossip protocol involving a witness network.

I used to follow developments around Web of Trust closely, but the huge fragmentation and lack of outlook on broadly accepted/adopted open standards made me lose hope for such technology to emerge anytime soon, and I stopped following the field other than superficially. I only learned about KERI today (via HN discussing FOKS), and it is the first time I got the (first) impression that they..

1. Have scoped and positioned their technology at the right scale and ambition level
2. Have a good focus on adoption strategy, and intend to become IETF open standard.

The 3-part article series “Hitchhiker Guide to KERI” mentions the perceived complexity in the introduction:

Despite its potential, KERI often finds itself shrouded in misunderstanding, often being criticized for its perceived complexity. Thus, this blog aims to provide an introduction guide to KERI, demystifying its intricacies and advocating for its widespread adoption.

Two years on from the mention by @silverpill it might be worthwhile to give KERI another deeper look for applicability on the fediverse. One intriguing design goal, referring to the well-known XKCD-927 in the article is:

“Could there possibly be a unifying DID method that covers the use cases of all others?” This is precisely what KERI attempts to be.

What makes KERI special is also the fact that it is not just another DID method. The KERI protocol has a grander vision of being the identity overlay for the internet.